Spielberg's "On the Lot" Top 100 Director Alex Ferrari Making Some Major Noise

Hollywood, FL (PRWEB) June 20, 2007 -- Since not making it to the finals of Spielberg's On the Lot, writer/director Alex Ferrari has not slowed down. Known for his break-though film Broken, (http://www.whatisbroken.com) which became one of the most celebrated indie short films in recent years. Broken has been screened in over 100 international film festivals and covered by over 250 media outlets around the world. Also, completely self-distributed the Broken: Special Edition DVD has sold over 5000 units world-wide.

The film also spawned an art book (released by Deivant Comics). A hefty 100+ page art book that illustrates the long pre-production and production process that artist Dan Cregan, Ken Robkin and director Alex Ferrari went through creating the world of Broken. This tribute showcases conceptual art, character designs, on-set photos, full short film screenplay, and visual effect breakdowns. (http://www.deviant-comics.com)

This book will whet the appetite of any Broken enthusiast with never before released artwork from the feature film version. This pictorial feast is a must-have for any indie filmmaker, art connoisseur, or film fan. It is proof that an indie film can be taken to a higher level.

"Broken is essentially a demonstration of the mastery of horror imagery and techniques...effective and professional. Looking forward to 'Broken: The Feature.'- Roger Ebert (Film Critic Chicago Sun-Times)

"Broken has all the visual potency of the likes of The Matrix and Fight Club."- FilmFocus UK

"Allow me to introduce you to the next big thing. ...the sweetest indie trailer this side of the Matrix.They have single handedly taken indie to the next level . This $8,000 dollar film looks as good as Sin City.- MoviesOnline

"4 STARS! 'Broken' looks great, sounds great and threatens to put a bullet between your eyes right from the get go."- Film Threat

Produced through his production company The Enigma Factory, Inc., his new short film "Cyn" (http://www.alittlecyn.com) is a trimmed down version of a longer script writer/director Alex Ferrari created for his upcoming feature film project called "Red Princess Blues." As he developed the "Princess" short film he noticed that it had less and less in common with his characters and storyline of his feature project.

So when Alex made the Top 100 (out of over 12,000) of Steven Speilberg's "On the Lot" and they asked him to create a short film in 6 days, "Cyn" was born. Cyn was made on a 6 day schedule (from script to final output) for under $1000 and boasts one of the craziest end title sequences ever created for a five min short film. Think of throwing an atom bomb on a roach, completely over the top.

A quick synopsis: "Cyn is a twisted tale by writer/director Alex Ferrari about Cynthia, a young woman who is taken away by two psychopaths (Mr. Sugar and Otto) in the middle of the night to an old abandoned kindergarten. Cyn quickly turns the tables on them and soon the night becomes a cat and mouse mind game. While this drama is unfolding a lone figure watches from a close circuit monitor. Who is Cynthia and what the hell is going on in this twisted tale?"

Cyn was shot on the Panasonic HVX200 in HD 720p Native using four 8 gig P2 cards. This allowed the director to have his assistant editor/cameraman Ricky Pierre-Louis to download the footage on a Final Cut Pro editing system while still on set. The workflow was amazingly fast and the images were beautiful.

This time around the director wanted to have a small fight scene in Cyn so he brought on Martial Art Specialist and fight Choreographer Anthony Cory. Tony worked with the actors heavily on rehearsal day to ensure not only their safety but to make sure the scene really rocked!

The Production:

With such a tight schedule, a killer producer was needed. Enter producer extraordinaire Kyra Ozuna of K2 Productions in Miami, FL. Kyra has been producing for years. When Alex needed a co-pilot producer on this crazy journey, he choose Kyra. She put together the entire production in hours and had a season crew hired, location locked, and craft services stocked within three days. She also had a hand in production design, wardrobe and make-up. She is truly, as Kyra puts it an "everythingoloigist." Kyra was truly the fuel in the engine that made Cyn move.

Our location was G-Star Studios in West Palm Beach, FL. It has an 84,000 sq. ft. motion picture studio space as well as an amazing staff that bent over backwards to help us. G-Star Studios, it's staff and student population was very excited to have us there and made us feel like we were at home. The Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade film commissions also where instrumental in making this a smooth production.

The Post Production:

Cyn was edited by the editor/director Alex Ferrari on Apple's Final Cut Pro HD. The workflow from the Panasonic HVX200 was seamless. The final edit took a record breaking 4 1/2 hours to edit and about 6 hours to do all the color correction. For color grading he used Red Giant's Magic Bullet Editors and Colorista, as well as Natress's G Film plugin's. He wanted to bring a "graphic novel" stylized look to Cyn. This was achieved with great lighting by seasoned director of photography Egon Stephan Jr. of CineVideoTech fame in Miami, FL. Alex and Egon only had a few brief moments to discuss the look and feeling of the project in "pre-production." Together they created a very unique and polished look.

Visual effects are always a part of an Alex Ferrari film and Cyn was no exception. Dan Cregan from the Award Winning Numb Robot (http://www.numbrobot.com) was asked to create multiple explosions, a room being shaken to pieces and an opening and closing title sequence, all within 4 days. Sean Falcon also was brought in to do what he does so well "muzzle flashes."

Music was a key element in creating the mood for Cyn. Frequent collaborator Mark Roumelis of Cmpozr, Inc. and Felipe Tichauer of Red Traxx both scored the entire film in under 3 days. The director wanted to capture a Danny Elfman vibe with the score being, very twisted, dark but yet playful. Both Mark and Felipe did a remarkable job.

Sound Design also was key in the final sound of Cyn. Carlos Arrieta of Roar Post (http://www.roarpost.com) in Miami, FL beautifully designed all the sound effects in the film. From explosions to a sack being pulled off a person's head, Carlos had the project covered.

Cyn is an example of what can be done by talent filmmakers with little money. The short is currently making the festival rounds. Currently Alex Ferrari is looking for financing for his feature project "Red Princess Blues" (http://www.redprincessblues.com) and his companies The Enigma Factory, Inc. and Numb Robot continue to take on bigger and higher profile projects.

For more information on writer/director Alex Ferrari and his companies click below: